Saturday, January 30, 2010

I got a "Sorry Note" from Poslaju on the 5th of January 2010 with a blue stamping that said; Sila buat tuntutan pada keesokan hari. Please collect on the next working day. Being true to my Miss Procrastinator title, naturally, I finally went to Poslaju's collection house at Jalan 227 Petaling Jaya just yesterday. Right, about 24 days after I got the note. :)

So, when I finally got there, I was told that my credit card had been returned to the Maybank Card Centre and I had to contact them for collection. My credit card? Oh, terlupa pula my Maybank Mastercard would expire at the end of January 2010. Patutlah dapat credit card ganti.

This sudden realization had also flooded my medula oblongata with the following facts:

I have a work trip to Kuching, Sarawak on Tuesday, the 2nd of February 2010.

I would be needing my credit card to check-into the hotel.

I only have ONE credit card. (Usaha debt sifar in action)

My flight is at 11:40am, and I need to be in KL Sentral 2 hours prior. (i.e.9:40am)

Saturday is Thaipusam - a public holiday for KL and Selangor.

Monday is Federal Territory Day - another public holiday for KL.

If I don't get my new credit card, then I am toast! :(

So I called Maybank's 24-hour customer Service at 1-300-88-6688. After a few rounds of listening through their reminder that RM50 government tax on every credit card will be billed in your statement and the IVR to guide me to "Credit Card" enquiries, I was directed to Mr. Zamri (betul ke nama dia ni, adnil9?) whose voice reminded me of a DJ radio melayu. :)

He told me that Yes, my card had already been delivered to the Card Centre on 25th January 2010. If I could advice where to redirect the delivery or would I rather self-collect somewhere. I told him about my predicament that I was in that is, all listed items 1 through 7 above. For immediate pick-up, he suggested that I make my way to the Card Centre at Menara Maybank in Jalan Raja Chulan. They close at about 4:30pm.

Ah, great!!! Just that it was already 4:15pm on a Friday evening, it was raining and we were in Petaling Jaya. There is no way thet we were gonna make it in time. So, he said, "It's OK, I can make a personal arrangement for you to pick it later at the same place" and that he would call me in 5-10 minutes time to confirm.

A few minutes lapsed when he apologised that they centre could not wait too long for me to arrive (we estimated 5:30pm), but suggested that I pick up my card at Maybank's One-Utama card centre, on Saturday. The centre is open 7 days a week.

Yeay!!

Problem solved.

It's not everyday that a call centre agent goes out of his way, but this time he did and solved my problems for me. Thanks so much En. Zamri. (at least I think that's what his name is)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

To be able to send them to school in the mornings.To pick them up from school in the afternoons.To sort their co-curricular activities after school.To make sure that Khadra is changed and has her lunch before she goes off to drama class.To let Khadra go to Sekolah Rendah Agama every evening.To be able to pick her up at 5:30pm every weekday.To practice Iqra' with Khadra and Khaleeq everyday.To be able to spend time to go through their homework with them everyday.To spend time going through revision with them.To read more with Khaleeq.To spend more quality time with Khaleeda.To send Khaleeda to school but I can't coz it would seriously screw up the logistics in the morning and in the afternoon.To jemaah maghrib and have Yaasin recitals every Thursday nights with the kids.

But I also want to go to work.I want to be able to have a work group/clan.I want my mind to be challenged.To better myself with life-long learning.To get lots of moolah.To spend on me.To pamper myself with facials, massages, meni/pedi, etc.

Yang ni pun nak. Yang tu pun nak. Yes, I am fickle like that.

Truthfully, I don't know if I am really a Stay at Home Mom material.I might be screaming my lungs out 24 x7.I might end up detesting my kids.I might just lose my mind.

Aaaargghhhhh....

Aku stress. I burnt that Supermom outfit already.So, I compromise.Buat apa yang boleh, outsource apa yang tak mampu nak buat sendiri and find alternatives for those that are impossible for me to provide.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Had a good hour and a half worth of talk with the hubster before sleeping the other day.I miss just talking like that.No agenda.Just talking and cuddling.Sometimes I just get too caught up in living our life.I forget to take a little breather to pause and soak it all in.

Just today I took a little time out to chase the kids one after the other around the BeanBag.Left me breathless at the end.But nothing beats hearing,"This is the best day, Ibu" coming out of Khadra's mouth.

Monday, January 25, 2010

We have quite a big family, us Azluls. There are 7 of us siblings, 4 are married and at the moment, the total grandchildren of the Zaghlol clan stands at 12. Add to that my dad's side - 11 siblings, 8 are married with 33 kids between them and 16 grandchildren. Last Saturday night , 43 were at Pondok Azlul, my parents' abode in Puchong.

The normal agenda was planned - jemaah Maghrib, jemaah Isya', a little talk, Yaasin, tahlil and then the big makan. It may seem weird for some of you as it was a little weird for my husband when he first married me, as we have this type of things almost every month. But to me, it is already biasa. It is part of our own special tradition, how we grew up. :) Truthfully, it could get a little troublesome too, as we might already have other plans. I sometimes feel burdened by it. For my dad though, (who happens to be the eldest living sibling in his family) this type of gathering is a must and the show has got to go on. No matter, sapa yang boleh datang, sapa yang tak boleh datang, maybe next time then.

Personally, when I was younger, (wah, dah older ke?) I thought nothing much of it. It's just an avenue for good food and great company. Us cousins would be chit-chatting away - in between prayers and all. :) Aunties and uncles reconnect with their nephews and nieces. Exchanging stories , jokes, sad news and the like. I remember very well our late nenek saudara who loved telling stories to us kids. She was such a beautiful lady with a unique ability to mesmerize you with her stories.

Anyways, my point is, I didn't know it then, but my dad had carried on his father's legacy on having this type of gatherings to create a loving environment for us to grow in. A support system unlike no other - a close-knitted family bond. I do appreciate his persistance now. Now that I have kids of my own, I want them to be secured. I want them to know that these are the people that they could depend on. That everyone is there for them. :)

The other thing about it is that my dad does not get upset that the little ones won't get in line to sembahyang. He'd just let them roam when we were reciting the Yaasin. :) For him, it's just as important for the little ones to be around this type of gatherings, so that they would want to join in when they are older. So that they would know who their families are. So that they will not forget their religious duties as well as wanting to be succeessful in the studies and careers. These are hard lessons to teach my kids and I really don't want to shove them down their throat. My dad has taught through his actions that we need to balance the pursuit of akhirat and the current life we're living. That it is both equally important.So, yeah. We try to make an effort to come to these gatherings. After all, who can resist the authentic home-cooked Temerloh mari patin tempoyak, eh? Yummy..

Apparently, she has been talking to her Indonesian friends over the mobile and this has been the hot issue a.k.a. current topic for discussion.It typically leads to ;"Kak Parmi tak mahu balik Indo?"To which her reply would be; "Buat apa nak balik. Indonesia Tanah Allah. Di sini pun Tanah Allah juga. Biarlah mati di sini."

Saturday, January 23, 2010

I don't know if this is what every parent does for their Standard One kid in a government school, but a bunch of parents from Khadra's class got together to paint the classroom last Saturday. :) The agenda ran from about 9am when the first person arrived and ended at about 6.30pm when the last person left the classroom.

The classes for Tahap Satu are painted according to their Sukaneka colours. One colour for one class. (Tahap Dua baru ada the more competitive Rumah Sukan) The colour for Khadra's class is Red, but their class has been painted yellow the previous year. Anyways, we planned to paint the back wall red and the side walls dark grey this year.

The result of Phase 1?In fact I am still in awe that we pulled it off , complete with refreshments , tau! A thermos of hot teh tarik, nasi lemak and karipap sardin. Paints had to be bought, also the other tools such as scraper, roller(s), paint tray(s), brush(es) etc. There was a lot of stuff to be done. First, we needed to scrape all sorts of stuff off the wall - posters, educational pin-ups, previous class' Bumblebee mascot and leftover of foamy double-sided tapes. Someone had to be in charge to fill in the "potholes" with some fillers and most of us was busy with undercoat.undercoat.undercoat. (It took sooo long to finish up with the undercoat. Like seriously!) Only then could our colours of choice could be painted on top of it. I was able to capture some of the work-in-progress but only for the morning session 'coz I left around noon. By then, we already started with the dark grey colour on the side walls.

Here's a peek at the moms and dad and cikgu hard at work.

The lady in the blue t-shirt is the class teacher, Puan Sue. So sweet, kan?

Menyamar buat muka gigih

This was definitely the aksi that made me cringe the whole of the next week

I have a feeling aksi di atas telah menyebabkan tenguk, leher, bahu dan upper arm saya sengal-sengal selama seminggu. Trying to reach the far corners of the four walls whilst standing on the children's desks. We had a support team to move the desks so that we didn't have to step down. hihihihihihihi Ailie started from one corner and me from another. She met me at the borderline - somewhere in the middle. :)

Nasib baik dah pergi servis kat Thai Odyssey tadi. So I am ready for part 2 this morning! Time to tackle the bulletin boards, ladies! :)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Have not gone to this place for a long time already. Maybe the last time I had lunch there was like 2 years ago. (Really? Maybe exaggeratelah a little bit) Sempat pulak pergi makan dengan Azrul tengahhari ini. :)

My poor baby is sick. He looked a little tired yesterday before going to mengaji class at Ustazah Yati's. I noticed that he was rather quiet and was trying to catch a sleep all through the one-hour journey through after work traffic to Kota Damansara. At Ustazah's place, he got off with his sister and I made my way home. (Made a deal with Azrul to pick them up later so that I get to watch American idol at 8pm)

Anyways, at the Section 16 traffic light, I got a call from Ustazah yati that Khaleeq threw up and we need to pick him up. The other kids had been sent home coz he threw up all over the tikar and it made it impossible to conduct the solat practical. :(

Kesiannya Khaleeq sakit sampai muntah-muntah. :( Kesiannya the other kids tak dapat belajar malam semalam. :(Kesiannya Ustazah had to deal with the muntah and had to cancel the classes. :(Kesiannya all the moms and dads sending their kids to class yet have to bring them back before it is supposed to end or even started. :(

My apologies to the parents for menyusahkan. It was di luar jangkaan. I really thought he wasn't that sick when we dropped him off.

Right after Azrul picked them up, we went to see the doctor and he was given meds for the fever, vomitting and cough. Oh and the anti-biotics also.

Alhamdulillah, the journey has been made easier, thank you, ya Allah. Initially, I planned to send them over to Kota Damansara to attend the 7pm or 8pm session on 4 nights during the weekday. This is of course on top of the 2-hours Sunday morning sessions that we are already sending them to.

Monday through Thursday. Add to that after work hours traffic from Bangsar to Kota Damansara. Well, you could only imagine the worst! :(

True enough, traffic was a definite nightmare.

I tried the Sprint-Damansara PLUS Toll route that I have been following on Sundays. I was told by the wise Kak Ween that Sprint-Damansara PLUS Toll stretch was a real bitch on weekdays and was she right. I was stuck for what seemed like aaaages there. Just coz people can't stick to their blardy lanes and keep criss-crossing between lanes. :)~~

Kak Ween recommends the Sprint-TTDI route, then via persiaran Surian nstead. It was bearable, she said. And it was almost toll-free, except for the RM1.00 at the SPRINT toll. I tried that a few times, but got really testy at the TTDI area - wanna blame it at the current construction that's taking place near the BU area.

Ziezi recommended the Hartamas - Duta PLUS Toll way. Hartamas stretch is a little slow, but moving. So that was definitely much better.

In the end, I took the Hartamas - Penchala Link - (U-turn at One-Utama) - Persiaran Surian route. It is a little berpusing-pusing, I know, but it is anti-flow and I find that our journey is much calmer. *Big relief* The kids even took this time to catch up on a little nap.

That's the logistics sorted out. Thank you.

On top of that, Ustazah Yati had suggested that we only come in 2 nights on the weekdays, for a 2-hour session instead. She suggested one night on either a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday - where she would concentrate on Iqra' , Jawi and a little bit of Arabic. The other session is on a Thursday, where it is mainly solat practical and stories of Rasulullah and such. :) Alhamdulillah... it worked out very well for me as I have the flexibility of Monday thru Wednesday should there be the need to stay back at the office for work. Seems like I just need to be back on time on Thursdays now. Else, there's always Azrul for back-up. :) Also, since their classes are 2-hour sessions now, it gives me room for Maghrib and just about enough time to squeeze a little ME-time.

Oh, Zatil and Yoi have been sending their Harith to the same night classes too. He's the boy in red/blue t-shit and the white kopiah in the pictures above. :) Zatil was relaying to me that Khaleeq had asked the Ustazah to tell them a joke one night - right in the middle of one of her lesson. Ustazah pulak tambah this story:

I also captured this little clip at the end of their session - The two kids busy checking out whether their parents are already there are Liza's, Si Harris Omar and Iskandar. Khaleeq can't keep still..

Tak pe lah.. I am just happy that Khaleeq's learning as much as he could - his Iqra' is already at huruf "Sodd and Dhod" , staying put (as much as possible), practicing his Jawi and at the very least listening and following the nasyids and stuff.

Oh, lil' Miss Khadra has already started on the Iqra' 2 since last week. Yeay, Kakak! :)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The dessert:Yummy Earthquake at Swensen's. And it was at 50% off since we had it on a Tuesday. :)

The participants:We were in college together whilst doing the ADP programme at PPP/ITM, Shah Alam.

Just ladies of the ordinary variety, each with their own stories to tell. A glowing mom-to-be, the tough single mom, singletons having the time of their lives, devoted wife and super (and not-so-super) moms.

I tell you, I really need to reconnect more.

I want to be there during the good and the bad times, girls! We need to do this again,lah. ;) *and another reason to have yummy ice-cream*

Thanks Amy for organizing, even though you had to pay RM13.50 for parking when I paid RM3.50. hihihihihihihi

OK, let's back track just a little bit. I just have a few questions here.

1) Since whenlah pulak Power Rangers came into the picture? I thought my boy was into Ben-10 and Transformers?Apparently, not any more. Thank you what ever TV channel that has been feeding my boy with this new obsession. *NOT!*

2) What is a Jungle Master Megazord anyways?Got this from wikia: As the Power Rangers train and learn to control their powers, they rise to the next level of Jungle Master Megazord in which their three new Animal Spirit (don't ask me, I don't know either) combined. Jungle Master Megazord is the combination of three animal spirits- Gorilla, Antelope and Penguin.

So, what do we do when faced with a situation as such? We make plans and this is ours:

*It's always a family plan, don't you know?*

Khadra will keep her daily RM2 recess money I give her in her K1 coin box. Eventhough Khaleeq does not have a canteen to spend it in, he still gets RM2 to be stuffed into K2 coin box. Khaleeda does not go to school, so we'll just match whatever the other two siblings can raise. When there is enough notes and coins in K2, Khaleeq will get his Jungle Master Megazord.

On second thoughts, maybe Azrul should just borong if and when he goes to China then. After all those Power Ranger stuff are BanDai products and are manufactured in China. Anybody out there going to China soon?

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Dan sebenarnya, (Eeh, ter-Yuna pulak) going to facials has not been on top of my priority list and I have been neglecting my face somewhat.

It so happened that at the time I was thinking, "Hey, must do something about my skinlah", I read a review by madam toughcookie on her own experience at this swanky place in BV2. Hmmm... Bangsar Village? My playground tuh.. So, I decided to give it a try.

I had an appointment for a skin analysis and facial at Lancome Beauty Institute on 27 October 2009. So, yes, I guess this cerita is basi already. Tapi, nak jugak cerita. Nak jugak-jugak..

Aaanyways, the first stop was a thorough skin analysis done by the therapist - it was fully computerized with various types of probes to check my hydration level, apparent "age" of my skin, elasticity, firmness, any pigmentation / brown spots, etc.

No surprises, but the verdict was: muka ku teruk sekali. It's dried on the upper dermis but underneath it is very oily -> thus the breakouts that I have been experiencing. There were also brown spots and pigmentation showing as a result of me not using any sunscreen. The only good news is on my ketuaan -> my skin is more bouncy than normal and not many fine lines are showing just yet.

What do you expect, kan? Berapa tahun tak pergi facial and my current skin care regime has been basically reduced to "Do it if you want to and leave it if you don't feel like it" due to my HHTA syndrome. (Yes, please blame it on that disease)

Don't wanna be redundant , so please read the very elaborate review by madam toughcookie on the matter.

Personally, though, I thought:

I liked the chair. Like a lot. Pretty cool gadget, that.

The extraction did not hurt that much, despite the amount of gunk I had on my face.

I didn't quite like the scents too much - it was too perfume-y (if you get what I mean) for my liking.

Monday, January 18, 2010

I must say I kinda underestimated the work needed to enroll my kid into Primary One. The registration was easy enough, really it was the preparation that comes with it. This was after taking into considerations that I have already bought her school uniforms and shoes sometime back in November. (Yes, I am an eager beaver, thank you very much)

Let's lay it out, why don't we?

The books - yes, text books are being provided. (Thank you, Government of Malaysia) But, you still need to buy the exercise books and activity books. We sourced the activity books and stationery from Czip Lee , Telawi Bangsar (I love that shop) but the buku rampaian-s and school badges needed to be purchased at the school book store.

Getting the stuff was one thing - no stocklah, apalah. So I had to frequent the place a few times to check off all the books in the Standard One book list. Add into the equation hours upon hours of waiting and a highly PMS-ed book shop assistant. Adalah bliss. *NOT!*

Once you've secured the book, the next stage was labeling them with 1) name sticker print-out and 2) writing her name and class and wrapping every single book. Wah! Such a production! I remember doing this last for my sisters Ewa, Ema and Kira. (maybe coz I had such beautiful handwriting! hihihihi) But, I remember hating the wrapping part. Thank god for innovation that came in the form of the ready made covers that only needed you to slot and stick! Yeay!

Next were the uniforms. I already got 2 pairs of pinafore and 2 pairs of baju kurung-s for Khadra. However, on the orientation day, we realized that the length of the pinafore was a little longer than we wanted it and made her look like she was wearing a tent. hihihihihihihi.. So, we went to get her 2 more pinafores 2 sizes smaller.

Then, there was the stitching of the school badges. This year, they came up with stich-ons as opposed to the iron-ons. So, I had to search my domestic skills deep within me from my years in STF. Thanks Puan Aminah and Puan Rosnani. Lihatlah hasilnya.

I got her uniforms ready, her books and her school bag done. Checked the stationary list - pencil case, pencils, eraser, ruler, colour pencils. All set for school now!

The first day went on without a glitch. Yeay! The preps had really paid off. The girl was really happy coz her BFF cum cousin is in the same class. Alhamdulillah, no big dramas. She's also settling in quite well but I'll update her activities later lah.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Of all the things I could write, I am now writing about makan. hahaha Typical.

I found this gem of a hang out place while I was loitering around Bangsar Village II in between my massage and facial appointments. Had to get a quick bite but I was not in the mood for Delicious, or Nirwana Maju , or Madam Kwan's, or Chawan, or Devi's. The adventurous mood was kicking in and I ventured into Marmalade on the First Floor alone. :)

Place is kinda laid back and very appropriate for family with little toddlers. They even have a play space in one corner for the kids to play before the meals arrive. Great plus point for me. There's also a space by the window with cute little one-seaters. Though when I tried sitting on it, it was not that suitable to have your meals in. But for after meals, just to minum-minum is OK.

Anyways, onto a more important agenda - the food.

In my humble opinion - the collection of must trys.1. The avocado accent salad - succulent avocado with sundried tomatoes, capsicum in a special dressing. Oh so yummy. (They also have an extensive unique salads which you could also try)2. *I think it was* Turkey and Spinach Wrap - it felt healthy and it was yumms!!3. The nasi goreng dish with some kurma - sedap jugak if you are not much into Western stuff.

4. Lasagne - Look at the sause ontop of it. It really felt very rich and filling. So tak larat nak habiskan if you are eating alone.5. The cheeseburger - very juicy and very sodapp!!!

They also have kids' meals. We tried the spaghetti which were devoured by Khaleeq and Khaleeda and lil Miss Khadra had the hotdog (what else) everytime we went! hihihihihihihi

I thought the place was a great alternative makan place if you are in the BV / Telawi area. So, give it a try already!

Friday, January 15, 2010

I have been complaining to the hubs about my pest problems in the car and he immediately recommended one of those Roach Baits. They come in a box of 6 or so and apparently he has had some remarkable results with it.

Anyways, being the true Miss Procrastinator that I am, I have not yet got round to doing it . The complaints kept on mounting, yet the solution remains the same. There were even a few rounds of "You la beli.." and "Nanti I beli, lah.." But, still no signs of the Roach Bait in the Azrul household.

Until...

I was on the royal throne the other day when I noticed that there were some living beings underneath the pelapik toilet tiles (You know, those ones that you put on so that your feet don't get wet when you visit the toilet. Yes, those ones..) So I nudged it. Four little beings scampered away. Adakahbaby cockroaches? Ewwwwww.... Adalah gross..

The last straw came when I left my cut fruits in the car after the kids' mengaji session last Wednesday. Thinking that the fruits might get spoilt if I left it overnight, I asked the hubs to accompany me to the car. *OK, Adilah adalah mengada* Anyways, guess what was waiting for us in my pack of jambu batu with asam? Two kid cockroaches. I kid you not. Ewwwwww...... Menggeletis, ok..

So, I finally got them Roach Bait last night. Memperkenalkan; Mortein Roach Bait that comes in a pack of 6.

Packaging untuk kotaknya

According to the instructions on the back of the package, you are supposed to put the baits about a metre apart from each other. The spot needs to be dark and warm. I already put 3 baits in toilet last night. Switched off the lights and the waiting game begins....

By this morning, I saw a trail of ants near the door. Three puny, tiny, baby cockroaches are being lifted for their feast tonight. Behind the pot, there was a casualty, bellied up! Turtle gitew.. hihihihihihihiSo, Yeay!!! It works! It blardy works!

Next , my car pulak. I placed all 6 baits in it. One at each passenger seat and one at the driver's. Two more in the trunk.

Eeh.. Blur pulak. Gelap sangat agaknya..

Sekali lagi. With flash!

Expecting to see some more casualties later today. According to the instructions, there are two types of roaches:

Thursday, January 14, 2010

American Idol is back yet again for its 9th season and the first audition in Boston was premiered last night on Astro's Star World. 9,000 hopefuls turned up despite the rain from wee hours in the morning for a chance to prove that they are the next American Idol in front of a Paula-less panel of judges. Yup, Paula threw down the towel at the wrap up of the 8th season and it has also been confirmed that this would be Simon Cowell's last tenure on the hit reality series. It was also confirmed that witty Ellen de Generes would be the substitue judge for this season. In the mean time, the fourth judge is made up of 8 guest judges - yesterday it was Madam Posh Beckham.

Let it be known that I love American Idol, for the bitter realism of Simon, for the evolution and betterment of the talents that do progress week by week BUT mainly for the doofs unearthed during the audition phase. hihihihihihihihi.. Seriously, leave me a comment in the comment box if you have not heard of Willian Hung. :)~~ For yesterday's show, however, I really think this Emo Boy takes the cake home. Serious emo , okay!!! *sheesh*

Do catch the American Idol Season 9 auditions on Wednesdays and Thursdays on Star World at 6pm, 8pm or 12am. If you could not catch those airing time, it will also be playing on 8TV on Thursdays and Fridays at 10pm.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I was just minding my own business today when not one, but two great , wonderful news came my way. :)

News Number ONE

The lovely Liana from my office has given birth to a beautiful baby girl, who at the moment is known as Sara. She was born at 12.33pm yesterday at Pantai Medical Centre. She is still looking for a good second name , so I suggested - Sara Hana (cilok nama anak Faradzilla Roziani) or Sara Lynn (cilok nama anak Zaihasra). She is such an adorable baby, with her big big eyes and pouty lips. She kept her eyes opened and was scrutinizing the makcik-makcik yang bising datang visit dia. :)

So, congratulations dearest Liana and take a good, much deserved rest. She would be taking the services of Hanis Zalikha's aunty as the live-in confinement lady for 14 days (daily urut,masak pantang, jaga baby). So I am really waiting for her review on her services. Mana tau it might come in handy in a few years... :)

News Number TWO

This second news really come as a very very pleasant surprise.

Begini, background storynya.Two people that I really liked from my PPP days got married to each other and I have been reading her blog for a while now. She also operates a blogshop ; ShoppingQueen78 (that is really cool, by the way) that handles orders from the US. Salah satu product that really caught my eye and yang tengah selling like hot cakes sekarang ini adalah Coach ID lanyard that comes in gold (10 left), black(2 left) and red(1 left).

Jokingly, sebagai orang yang tak tau malu, I commented on her personal blog that I would like to get the awesome Coach lanyard as a birthday present. But, of course, I expected nothing out of it.

Tup,tup. Guess what abang poslaju got for me this morning?So sweetlah KS and SK. I lap you two very very much lah! (Ooo, dapat hadiah baru nak sayang sayang!) hihihihihihi Still smiling like a kerang busuk. Thank you lovelies, you guys really made my day. :)

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Our highlight of the previous school holidays had to be our stay at the newly opened Hard Rock Hotel, Penang. About a month prior, I tried to secure an online booking through the HRH Penang's website coz we heard that the place was fully booked till April 2010. Alhamdulillah, through sheer hard work, determination and perseverance menekan dan menerai staying dates within the week as opposed to the weekends, we were able to reserve a 4 days, 3 nights tenure! Yeay!

Double yeay coz we got the Opening Promotion package where the Seaview Deluxe room was going at RM418++ . To really rock it like a rockstar, we also opted the King's Lounge Access for an additional RM120 nett. Kids and parents alike were super excited to finally go for a holiday. :)

The check-in was on a Sunday and went by rather uneventful-ly. Just that I thought that there were just way too many people there. Like seriously. I had a peek at the swimming pool area and it really felt like I was at a theme park on a holiday weekend.

Anyways, the room was of an OK size. We got ourselves a baby cot as well 'coz the king-sized bed could not accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids (plus 1 toddler) comfortably. The cot was intended for Khaleeda, but Khadra ended up sleeping in it three nights in a row! :) Really nice deco and our room gave a great view of the swimming pool, the beach and the beautiful horizon. I thought they used the space in the shower/loo area pretty cleverly too. It was a little bit cramped but there were sliding mirror doors that separated the bath and the bedroom.

Khadra said: The room is cool and I can see through the door at the toilet.

Memorabilia all over the hotel is expectedlah, of course. So, we didn't miss the chance to pose when we could. *So, typically touristy!* There were many Beatles around - mural tiles, paintings, statues, even the Logo type mega figurines! :) A special mention also for the statue of the late King of Pop sitting prettily at the entrance to the HR Cafe.

Khadra: I like the Micheal Jackson and the three pictures at the bottom the best!

The other item worth mentioning is of course the food! :) hihihihi... For the King's Club access that we paid for, we got to enter the King's Club located at Level 6 for tea, cocktails as well as all-day drinks. The best part was that we also had our breakfast there. No queue-ing up on the buffet spread and we could even order what we wanted! I was very appreciative of this perk as we have 3 very active toddlers that would just drive me craaaaazy in a chaotic condition. *Seriously* The breakfast menu was just heavenly - especially the french toast with caramelized banana and the blueberry pancakes. Khaleeda loved the scrambled organic eggs. Nak mintak nasi lemak ke, mee goreng ke, Milo ais ke, pun boleh! :)

The Pizzeria serves the thin-crusted original oven baked pizza ala Italia. When you are lucky, the chef would boast his tossing skills. The pepperoni toppings adalah besar gabak, 'yo! Sodappp!!! I would also recommend the Carbonara pasta! Creamy and yummy! We also tried the Starz Diner and the Hard Rock Cafe. Makanan adalah besar portionnya and that rib was so damn huge I felt almost like a cannibal. There were also kid's meal sets and you get to bring back the reuseable glass if you upgrade their drinks to milkshake / malt! (we already have 4) :) We did not try the Room Service though, but a Srikandi friend of mine whom I bumped into *Hi Kerol!* had a really bad experience with it that she made an appointment to see the General Manager to complain the next day. As compensation, they were given free ordered in full-meals throughout her stay! :) Best kan? hihihihihi

Khadra said: I like to eat the pizza a lot. And the hotdog. And when I was eating a hotdog, the Uncle at Lil' Rock said;"Hurry up and eat the hotdog before the hotdog eats you." hihihihihihihi

Khaleeq said: I like the pizza but they don't sell roti cay-nai!

There were definitely loads of things to do there. For the kids, there were Lil' Rock, Teens Club, and of course the pool and beachfront for some fun in the sun. For the adults, there was the Rock Spa and some night entertainment in the HRCafe and the lobby. But since we had kids and toddler in tow, no live bands for us! Lain kali lah, agaknya.. hihihihihihi (Alah, bukan luak pun...)

Lil' Rock

The best thing about Lil' Rock for me is the fact that we could check in the two elder kids from as early as 10am till as late as 10pm. Kids of younger ages could use the facilities, tapi tak leh ditinggalkan. (Though the hotel does offer babysitting services upon advanced bookings) Aaaanyways, that gave us some leeway on doing what we wanted for once and those times were used to hunt for a nice Nasi Kandaq place. (which turned out rather disastrously, by the way) They had the whole day planned out for the kids with activities ranging from cupcake decorations, movies, Splash time, etc etc. They also got to play with other kids who were staying at the hotel. Suffice to say Khadra adored the place and Khaleeq was just so-so about it. I guess it does depend a lot on the crowd that checks in on the day.

Khadra said: Lil' Rock is awesome and I like to make new friends like Tania and Adam. I love decorating the cupcakes and putting toppings on it.

Khaleeq said: I like to watch Kungfu Panda.

Fun In the Sun

The main activity throughout our stay there had to be swimming in the awesomeness that was the free-form swimming pool surrounded by white sands. Add to that the giant slides and the water playground that included the incredible carwash. :) Swimming time was once in the morning and once again in the evening. Khadra was going on all the slides (even the highest purple one) coz she is quite the water baby. Khaleeq almost drowned once down the slides coz he didn't know that it was pretty deep at one end. Thank Goodness for the efficient lifeguard on duty. After that incident, he kept close to the sides and only ventured to the deeper end with Ibu or Dad in tow. Khaleeda was practically independent seeing that she is snugly kept buoyant by her two arm floats. She so adored the slides and imitates her Kakak on the styles going down it. Yes, Superman included! :)

We also took some time to enjoy the beachfront. There were loads of activities there, ATV, pony ride, paragliding, jetski, etc but they are run by a 3rd party operator. We just took out our digging tools and tried to play with some sand. Diorang tak nak pun, saya paksa jugak-jugak sebab I already lugged it over how many hundreds of km, kan? But truthfully, I've seen better bitches beaches.

Khadra said: I like the big slide (that is the purple one). I love the carwash! I like making sandcastles but mommy won't let me swim in the sea because there were jellyfish!

Khaleeq said: I like the swimming pool but I don't like the beach. That is so bad!

Khaleeda said: Khaleeda.swim.

Teens Club

Then, there's also the Teen Club. Foosball, Pool, PS3, Wii (I think), PCs for surfing and also bike hire. When we went over, the attendant was playing "What's going on" by 4Non Blondes on his guitar kapok. Yes, he was that cool. We practically hogged the games area and this was where I witnessed my only boy got pi$$ed off with his Dad, shouting, "Die!Die!Die!" while playing Pro Wrestling on the PS3. hahahahahahahahahahaha Soooo funny!

Khadra said: I like to use the computer and watch youtube sometimes. And I like to let Khaleeda watch you tube and I like to play Chowder games.

Khaleeq said: I like the game coz I can beat Dad. But Daddy cheat me!

Rock Spa

The Rock Spa was located in a tiny bungalow by the pool. They offer a variety of services from body massages, menicure /pedicure, facials and foot reflexology. They would be offering these services in a private cabana by the beach in the near future, but while we were there, the cabanas have yet to arrive. There were also services for the little princesses - meni/pedi and chocolate facials. Best kan? Why didn't they have this when I was growing up? :) Anyhoots, I just had to try out the full body Hard Rock massage and it turned out to be quite relaxing. Azrul did the foot reflexology thingy.

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